


sky of stars, world of magic

by DragonsAndCryptids



Series: fire and ice [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonsAndCryptids/pseuds/DragonsAndCryptids
Summary: Erza and Gray have escaped from Magnolia, not just with Natsu, but with everyone else as well. Except now they need to find a new home, all while trying to find someway to help Ultear and Lyon, as well as learn how to survive in the world outside of Magnolia.
Relationships: Cana Alberona/Mirajane Strauss, Lucy Heartfilia/Levy McGarden, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster/Erza Scarlet, Ultear Milkovich/Juvia Lockser
Series: fire and ice [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148675
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And here it is! The first chapter of the sequel! I hope you all enjoy it as much as the first part! 
> 
> As you probably noticed from the tags, I'm planning on introducing a lot more characters, and I hope you like what I do with them

Droplets of water dripped from Natsu’s hair and horns, falling into his face, rousing him from his slumber. His nose twitched as more water dripped. He groaned and shifted, whining as he noticed the ache in his bones, leftover from a slight chill. It hadn’t been  _ cold _ when he fell asleep. He stretched his arm out, searching for blankets, or a warm body to pull closer, but he found nothing, his claws scraping against wood. “Erza…? Gray?” Had they already gotten up? That wasn’t  _ uncommon;  _ he slept a lot more than them, but it was still disappointing to wake up in an empty bed. 

Except… He forced his eyes open as he shivered, and he finally realized how damp his clothes were, and that he wasn’t actually in bed. “Oh…” He yawned, and forced himself up, with no shortage of popping bones. 

The ship lurched, and his claws sank into the wood of the mast, his stomach rolling dangerously. “Oh fuck…” 

It’d be so nice when he’d fallen asleep, so warm and  _ calm. _ The sun had been shining, and the waters smooth, so he’d climbed up the mast to lay across the beams holding the sails up to bask in the sun’s rays. He had no idea when he’d fallen asleep, or how long he actually had napped, but the currents were rough again, and the clouds and mist were back, making it cold and damp again. 

Well… it’d been nice while it lasted. 

His lunch tried forcing its way back up his throat, and he just barely kept himself from throwing up. Glancing down towards the deck of the ship, he realized if he threw up, it’d probably land on someone, and then he’d be getting his ass chewed out. 

Gods, where was Wendy? Her magic was great for nullifying the sea sickness, even if it only lasted for a few hours at a time, a day, if he was really lucky. 

“Hey! Natsu! You awake?” Erza shouted. 

Despite his churning stomach, he smiled and fluttered down to the deck. “Yeah, I’m up.” 

“You’re looking pale, are you sick again?” she asked, her eyebrows pinching together in worry. 

“Yeah…” he admitted. “But it’s getting better! Maybe I’m finally getting used to it!” 

Erza offered him a sympathetic smile, and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Hopefully. Wendy’s in the cabin with Levy, if you want to ask her to use her magic on you again.” 

Natsu hummed, and pressed against Erza’s back and buried his nose in her hair. “You’re warm…” 

“Yes, and you’re chilly,” she said. “You’ve got to stop falling asleep in random places and getting too cold. Do you need some fire?” 

“No, I’m fine,” he said, taking one more deep breath of her scent before pulling back. “But I do want to find Wendy. Before I throw up all over you.” 

She snorted and shove him away. “Yeah, you better fucking not. I’ll snap you in half, Natsu.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He flapped his wings a few times, dislodging the condensation from the mist that had gotten stuck in his scales, and shuffled towards the cabin. 

It’d been a month since they’d left Magnolia, and while Natsu loved getting to spend every day with Gray and Erza, he could admit… that he really wasn’t meant for living on a ship. He was sick all the time, it was harder to make enough fire to eat, so he was colder more often, and due to both of those things, he felt like he was sleeping more than he was awake. 

Wendy was faring much better, due to inheriting their mother’s fur and warmer nature. Actually, after the first few days, and it became obvious that Natsu was acting more… lethargic than he should have been, Levy had tried to figure out why, and had come to the conclusion that it was because he was  _ cold-blooded, _ and depended on fire to keep himself warm, unlike everyone else, whose body just regulated their temperatures for them. Natsu didn’t exactly understand it all, but it made a certain amount of sense. It also explained why he’d deteriorated so quickly and so thoroughly while he’d been captured. 

No one could figure out why the hell he got seasick so easily when no one else did, though. 

“Oh, hey, Natsu,” Levy greeted as he stumbled into the cabin. “You’re not looking so hot. There’s some blankets in that basket over there.” She pointed to a pile of baskets and boxes in the corner. 

“No thanks, I’m fine,” he said. “Just need Wendy to fix me up.” 

Wendy looked up from the book she was poring over. “Sure thing, Natsu! Come here.” She held her hands out, a green glow already building around them. 

He stepped over, and let his little sister’s magic wash over him, instantly chasing away the nausea rolling through him. “Thanks,” he breathed. 

“Mmhm.” She rubbed his shoulders. “I think the weather should be clearing up later, I can smell it on the wind, no more mist and clouds, so you can get some more sun!” 

“That’d be nice,” he said. He just wanted his scales to feel  _ warm _ again. 

“Just hang in there, Natsu,” Levy said with a smile. “We should be stopping at another island in a few days, and there should be some people there that will help us get into touch with Laxus. And hopefully they’ll know something about this Gajeel fellow!” 

“Oh, I hope so!” Wendy exclaimed. 

Natsu nodded in agreement, smiling himself. Apparently, these smugglers they were meeting up were people Lyon and Ultear had worked with on occasion, and had helped get Laxus somewhere safe, since he was a  _ real _ dragon hybrid. Natsu was excited to meet them, especially after learning they might know something about magical beings that had been sold on the black market. 

Of course, they didn’t know  _ for sure _ if that was what had happened to Gajeel, but at the moment, this was the best lead they had when it came to searching for him. 

It’d been a long, boring month of sailing, but maybe things would be looking up soon. 

* * *

“I am so fucking sick of fish,” Cana groaned, but despite her complaining, she helped Erza and Mirajane heave the net onto the deck. 

“We all are, but it’s all we’ve got until we can stop somewhere,” Mirajane said. “But hopefully, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen will know places where we can get a lot of food pretty cheap. We’re lucky Levy and Lucy were smart enough to get a boat that had fishing equipment, too.” 

Erza hummed in agreement, staring at the flopping, writhing fish and waiting for them to still before they could start putting them in barrels and then preparing dinner for the night. 

“Still fucking sucks, though,” Cana whined, before resting her elbows on Mirajane’s back and leaning against her. “We’re outta booze, too!” 

“We drank it all the first night!” Erza exclaimed. 

“Yeah, I shouldn’t have shared with you bastards!” The brunette sighed and shook her head. “Going cold turkey like this is fucking awful. I swear, if those damn smugglers don’t have some good shit, I’m gonna kill ‘em.” 

“Oh, Cana.” Mirajane twisted around and patted her head. “Chin up! Things can only get better from here on out.” 

Erza kneeled down and began untangling the fish from the nets, trying to hide her smile from the two women. If she had to guess, it’d be sometime soon that they started dating. That was, if they weren’t already and just hadn’t told anyone yet. 

“Do you think Laxus will want to come with us?” Mirajane asked. “Or will want to just stay where he’s at? I mean… it’s been a long time since any of us have gotten to  _ actually _ speak to him. Maybe he’s gotten a decent life! But I’m sure Makarov will be super happy to get to see him again.” 

The net wrapped around Erza’s fingers. “Yeah, he can’t wait. He’s just been getting letters from him for so long now.” 

Cana yanked a particularly large fish out of the nets by the tail. “Who knows what he’ll want to do. He was never real social, even  _ before _ he ended up half dragon.” 

“I suppose that is true,” Mirajane agreed. “Do you think he’d like to meet Natsu and Wendy? Maybe he’d like getting to know other dragons! What do you think, Erza?” 

“I know Natsu’s excited to meet him,” she answered. “Don’t know how Laxus will react to all of it though. We did kind of uproot our whole lives.” 

“Yeah, I just hope Levy figures out a good island for us to live on soon,” Cana said. “I hate just sailing around in circles like this.” 

“Yeah…” Erza sighed. They all hated it. Not to mention poor Natsu was miserable. She wished she could do more to actually help him. Plus Cana was right. This wasn’t a lifestyle they could keep up forever anyways. As soon as they got into contact with Laxus and figured out what he might want to do, and got any resources they could from Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow, they really needed to crack down on finding an actual home. “Hopefully we get out of this mess soon.”

* * *

“Hey, I brought you guys dinner.” 

Neither of them stirred. 

Gray nearly groaned. “I know you’re tired of fish. We all are. But you’ve gotta eat something. And it’d probably be good for you to actually come  _ talk _ to other people.” 

“Fuck off, Gray,” Lyon muttered. 

He growled and crossed his arms. Gray was doing his best to take Lisanna’s advice. He really was. He knew his siblings had been through a lot, he still didn’t know the extent of it, but it’d been a  _ month _ now. They couldn’t keep hiding below decks, sleeping the vast majority of the time. “Have you talked to Natsu or Wendy yet? Like I told you, too?” 

“No offense, Gray,” Ultear said, finally sitting up and letting her blanket tumble from her shoulders. “But I don’t think your idiot dragon boyfriend knows anything about helping us.”

“He’s not an  _ idiot, _ he’s just not used to people and is bad with social cues.” Not to mention, he’d been getting  _ better _ now that he was actually around people. Well, marginally better. “And I’ve  _ told _ you that a non-human is  _ probably _ what you need right now. He could help you with your new senses and that kind of stuff!” 

“We’ll get used to it on our own eventually,” Lyon grumbled, but at least he sat up to get his plate of fish from the end of his bed. “We don’t  _ need _ help.” 

Gray had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping that they  _ clearly _ did, because that wouldn’t help anyone and would probably only make them both dig their heels in deeper when it came to this. “Will you please at least think about it? Before I actually ask Natsu to do it as a favor to me? Because then he’ll come down here and he won’t give you an option.” 

Ultear narrowed her eyes. “I still don’t understand how the hell you got a fucking dragon and Erza Scarlet wrapped around your finger.” 

Gray wanted to snap some petty insult back, but he just couldn’t bring himself to. He knew Ultear wasn’t really into it, Lyon either, so it felt wrong to bicker with them like he normally would. “Whatever. Please, at least consider it.” 

Lyon grunted, but at least he was picking at his dinner. 

“I’ll think about it,” Ultear said. But Gray could tell from her tone that she wasn’t actually considering it. 

He bit back a groan, and climbed the steps back up to the deck. 

* * *

“Found anything yet?” Gray asked. 

Levy and Lucy exchanged a look. “I’m sorry, Gray, not a thing. But it’s not like we have a lot of resources here. After we talk to Freed and them, hopefully we’ll have a more clear idea, alright?” Levy said.

He drug his hand down his face, but nodded. “Yeah, okay, I understand.” He just wanted to help his siblings so badly, but it was clear that they would  _ never _ accept what they were now. Which meant the only option he had was trying to find a way to cure them. 

Except Gray wasn’t really that smart when it came to that kind of thing, which meant he had to rely on Lucy and Levy. He felt bad for dragging them into this, especially when they were already trying to find a good island for them to live on, and coordinate meeting up with the smugglers, but he didn’t know who else he could ask. 

Plus he didn’t want Lyon or Ultear to know what he was up to, so he didn't want to involve _everyone._ Partly because he knew Ultear and Lyon would tell him it was too risky to go looking for the people and science that had done this to them, and partly because he didn’t want to give them any false hope if reversing this process really did prove to be impossible. 

“We’ll let you know as soon as we have  _ anything _ though, alright, Gray?” Lucy said. “Remember, we want to help them just as much as you do.” 

“I know, I know,” he said. “I’m not trying to rush you or anything. I’m just… worried.” 

“I know.” Lucy offered him a small smile. “We all are. Just give us until we meet with Freed, and then I’m sure we’ll have at least some kind of lead.” 

“Yeah, okay.” 

* * *

_ “Gray!” _ Natsu grabbed his shirt and tugged him into bed. “Come on! I’m tired!” 

Gray flopped down into the bed next to him. “Yeah, yeah, you’re always tired. Am I allowed to take my shoes off?” 

“If you didn’t wear them in the first place, you wouldn’t need to take them off!” Natsu exclaimed. 

“My toes will freeze off without my boots,” he pointed out. “Right, Erza? Not  _ all _ of us can just set ourselves on fire to keep warm.” 

Erza rolled over, taking most of the blankets with her, causing Natsu to whine. “Yeah, Natsu, not all of us can just set ourselves on fire to keep warm.” She cracked an eye open and smirked, before latching onto Natsu. “So we cuddle.” 

Natsu wrapped his wing around her, a pleased purr rumbling from his chest. 

“You guys are fucking gross!” Cana shouted from her bed. “Shut the fuck up!” 

Gray rolled his eyes. Everyone sleeping below deck together was really starting to get on his nerves. “You shut up!” he shouted back. 

“Yeah, shut up!” Natsu agreed. 

“Erza, shut your boyfriends up!” Lucy chimed in. 

“You know, we have to listen to you and Levy be gross and in love all the time, too, right?” Gray pointed out, nestling into the blankets and pressing closer to Natsu, smashing the dragon in between Erza and himself. “‘ _ Oh, Lucy, you’re so gorgeous! Oh, Levy, you’re so perfect!’” _ His voice cracked as he forced it as high as it could possibly go. 

Natsu snickered. 

“Gray!” Levy shrieked. “I do not sound like that!” 

“Would  _ all _ of you shut up?” Lyon demanded. “I’m trying to fucking sleep!” 

Gray pulled the blanket over his head, and tried to tune out the bickering that was only getting louder. 

Gods, he was going to go insane by the end of this. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erza and Laxus are siblings who like to irritate the hell out of each other, it's simply true, I don't make the rules

It’d been a long time since Erza had last seen Laxus. He’d only been seventeen when he’d had to flee Magnolia, and while Makarov had received letters from him every couple months or so, they hadn’t actually seen him in over eight years. 

She hadn’t expected him to get so  _ big. _ It had always irritated Laxus that he had been the same height as her, considering Erza was three years younger than him  _ and _ a girl, but now he towered over her by at least six inches. To say nothing of how much he’d bulked up. He used to be so  _ lanky. _ Considering all that, she hardly paid any mind to all the extra scales and the horns that had developed after he’d left. 

Cana and Mirajane were already fawning over how attractive he was, which made Erza roll her eyes. Mirajane didn’t even  _ like _ men. 

“This is weird,” Gray muttered in her ear. “I mean, I get it was stupid to assume he’d still look the same, but this is  _ really _ fucking weird.” 

Erza hummed in agreement. Even Makarov had seemed shocked by how much Laxus had changed. Before he already started scolding him for some petty reason or another. “I’m gonna go talk to him, see how he’s been,” she said. After all, they’d practically been siblings. 

Gray nodded. “Alright, I’m gonna go talk to Evergreen and Freed. Come on, Natsu.” He nudged the dragon, who was standing on his tiptoes and leaning against Gray’s back, with his arms wrapped around his middle. 

Natsu hadn’t said a word since they’d met up with Laxus and the smugglers on this little island. He’d just been staring at Laxus, and despite how excited he’d previously been about meeting another dragon, he seemed… wary now, for lack of a better word. 

“Yeah, okay.” Natsu let go of Gray, and followed the ice mage to go speak with other smugglers, who stood off to the side so they could reunite with Laxus without them getting in the way. 

Erza took a deep breath, and marched over to Laxus. “Hey, you brute. How come  _ I _ never got a letter directed specifically to me?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and glaring up at him. “Is that anyway to treat your sister?” 

Laxus turned away from Makarov, Cana, and Mirajane, a slightly irritated expression on his face, so at least  _ that _ had stayed the same. “Why the hell do you smell like fucking dragon?” 

“That’s all you have to say to me?” she growled. 

“Well, good to know  _ you _ haven’t changed at all,” he said. “But seriously, what’s up with the dragon?” 

“Laxus, I don’t think that’s very important right now,” Makarov said. “She missed you!” 

“I did  _ not!” _ she protested, turning her nose up and crossing her arms. “I did no such thing!” 

Cana and Mirajane walked off, giggling about something they were muttering to each other. 

Laxus grinned, exposing fangs that could rival Natsu’s. “Aw, you missed me?” He set his hand down on top of her head, mussing up her hair. 

She jerked back. “Don’t do that, asshole!” She grabbed his wrist. “I swear, you—” She cut herself off, her eyes growing wide. “Is that a  _ ring?” _ She yanked him closer, inspecting the golden band studded with little green gems. “A  _ wedding _ ring?” 

Makarov made a concerning choking noise, but Erza wasn’t paying him any mind, too confused about who the  _ hell _ would ever agree to marry  _ Laxus. _

“No, it’s an engagement ring, dumbass.” He pulled his hand back, and his grin widened. “Tell me why you smell like dragon, and I’ll tell you about the ring.” 

“Laxus, you never said anything about this in your letters!” Makarov accused. 

He shrugged. “Figured you’d find out when we eventually saw each other again. Besides, he only proposed a couple months ago.” 

_ “He?” _ Erza questioned. She could admit, she  _ never  _ saw that one coming. 

“Yeah,  _ he.”  _ He leaned down so that he was eye level with her, and  _ gods, _ Erza really considered punching him for it. “Pissed I got a man before you did?” 

“Laxus…” Makarov sighed and shook his head. “It hasn’t even been  _ ten minutes, _ you two! Can’t we just have a nice reunion?” 

Erza completely ignored him. “I’ll have you know, I have  _ two _ boyfriends.” 

Laxus just snorted. “And one of ‘em is that scrawny little dragon that’s clinging to Fullbuster over there, right?” 

“So what if he is?” She placed her hand on his chest and shoved him back. “He’s sweet!” 

“And Fullbuster is the other one, yeah?” He stood back to his full height, his grin melting into a smirk. 

Erza felt her eyes twitch. Damn dragons and their noses.  _ Of course _ she smelled like both of them, considering they’d all been sharing a bed, and how often Natsu was always leaning on her. “Yeah, now what about you? Who decided they wanted to put up with a bastard like you for the rest of their life?” 

Laxus nodded towards everyone else. “Freed.” 

“Oh…” Erza supposed that  _ did _ make sense. From what little she’d seen, even  _ she _ had picked up on the thing Freed had for Laxus. “I guess he’s nice.” 

“I still  _ cannot _ believe you never told us,” Makarov grumbled. 

“Eh, shut up, you old geezer, I was gonna get around to it eventually.” 

* * *

“Freed, can I talk to you?” Gray asked. 

Freed smiled and nodded. “Sure, what about?” 

“Natsu, give me a minute.” Gray nudged the dragon’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go introduce yourself to Laxus. Before he and Erza try and strangle each other.” 

Natsu’s ears perked up, and he dashed towards Erza without even replying, and Gray winced as he realized there was a very real possibility the dragon had thought he was serious. But he was sure Erza could deal with him. 

“What are you needing, Gray?” Freed asked. 

Honestly, Gray had no idea if Freed, or any of the other smugglers, would know anything about this. Sure, he knew they got involved in some shady things quite often, but apparently what had happened to Lyon and Ultear was a new thing, since Jellal had never even heard of it before. “Have you heard anything about experiments on magic users recently?” 

Freed’s eyes narrowed, and he sighed. “I’ve heard some rumors, about some labs suddenly wanting magic users. Apparently they’re paying a lot for them. Why?” 

“My brother and sister were captured and experimented on, and now, evidently, they look like elves and fae,” he said. “I need to know if there’s any way to undo it.” 

Freed frowned. “So that’s what’s going on… I’m sorry, Gray. I’m afraid I don’t know much about it. We tend to stay away from the black markets that specifically deal with magic users and non-humans, all things considered.” 

As disappointing as that was, Gray supposed that made sense. They had Laxus to hide, and Freed, Evergreen, and Bixlow were magic users themselves. If they were ever discovered, they could end up in some very dangerous situations. “Oh, well thanks anyways.” He turned away from him, to join Erza and Natsu. 

“But, if you’re really serious about trying to get some information, get involved in the black markets,” he said before he could go. “There’s always people selling magic users and nonhumans in them, specifically dragon hybrids. The biggest hub for it will be the island of Crocus. And if you can, try and find Minerva Orland. Trust me, if anyone will have any real information, it’ll be her. Last I heard, she was around the island of Hargeon.” 

“Minerva Orland at Hargeon?” Gray nodded. “Yeah, thanks, Freed.” 

“No problem, just be very careful getting involved in that kind of stuff. You’ll see some terrible things,” he warned. 

“Trust me…” Gray glanced towards Natsu. “I know.” He would never be able to forget how awful Natsu had looked the night they’d broken him out. How malnourished and cold he was, his bones jutting out, his scales lackluster, his mutilated ear filled with tags, how scared he’d been. It made Gray sick every time he remembered the countless other beings that were being treated that way right now, all because humans didn’t think they were anything more than animals. 

Honestly, they were probably treating animals better. 

But despite all that, if there was even a chance he could help Lyon and Ultear get back to normal, he had to take it, for their sakes. 

“I’ll ask around too,” Freed said. “Get word to you if I hear anything or find any leads or anything like that.” 

Gray offered him a smile. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” 

“Yeah, sure thing. Good luck, Gray.” 

* * *

Natsu wasn’t sure how he felt about Laxus. At first, he’d been very excited to meet him. He was another dragon! (Half or otherwise, Natsu didn’t really care). But Laxus didn’t seem to want anything to do with him, just ignoring him, or on occasion, shooting him a strange look. Natsu wouldn’t exactly call it a glare, but it certainly wasn’t  _ pleasant.  _

But, after watching the way he interacted with Erza and Makarov, Natsu came to the conclusion that Laxus was just  _ like that, _ and it probably wasn’t him specifically. Though it still had his metaphorical hackles raised. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Gray asked quietly. “You’re really tense.” He lightly tapped Natsu’s cheek. “And quit baring your teeth. You look like an asshole.” 

The dragon forced himself to relax, he hadn’t even realized he was being so aggressive until Gray pointed it out. “Sorry, I just wanna fight him.” 

“You wanna— _ What?”  _ Gray demanded, his eyes widened. “Natsu!” 

Laxus glanced towards him, and raised an eyebrow, no doubt having heard the comment, but he just rolled his eyes and turned back to Makarov and Freed. 

“I think I could take him,” he insisted, his claws beginning to flex. 

Gray shook his head. “I swear to the gods…” 

“I could!” he argued. “I think it’d be fun!” 

“Sure.” Gray rolled his eyes. “But not right now. Erza would kill you.” 

Natsu pouted, mostly because he knew Gray was right. Obviously, she was very happy to be reuniting with Laxus, even if she claimed otherwise. “Fine.” 

Gray tousled his hair, a fond smile on his face. “Good.” 

“How long are we staying here?” Natsu asked, glancing around the small island. Almost everyone else had gone back to the ship now, with only Erza and Makarov still chatting with Laxus, and Levy conversing quietly with the other smugglers, Evergreen and Bixlow. 

“Not long,” Gray said. “Freed says they need to keep moving, and Levy wants us to get more supplies as soon as possible.” 

“Oh, can we get some rabbits?” Natsu asked. “I’m tired of eating fish, I want a rabbit.” His eyes lit up. “I wonder if there’s rabbits here!” He sniffed at the air, already planning to take off, but Gray grabbed him by the scarf before he managed to take more than two steps. 

“Hold up,” he said. “You’re not going hunting right now. I just said we’re probably going to leave soon.” 

Natsu whined. Back on Magnolia, hunting and trapping had been a bit of a chore, but he’d give almost anything to be able to do it now. He was so  _ restless, _ and itched to dig his claws into something. 

“Calm down, I’m sure we’ll be stopping somewhere again soon, a bigger island, and for a lot longer,” Gray assured him. “Now come on, let’s get back to the ship.” He took Natsu’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Looks like Erza is saying goodbye now.” 

Natsu turned back to Erza, to watch her give Laxus a brief, awkward hug, and exchanging a pleasant goodbye with Freed, before calling for Levy to hurry up, that they were leaving now. 

Levy exchanged her own goodbyes, and Natsu watched as she walked back to shore and boarded the ship. 

“Alright. Let’s get going,” Erza said as she walked towards him. “We should sail out before it gets dark.” 

Gray frowned. “Makarov?” 

Erza sighed. “He’s staying with Laxus for now. I can’t blame him, considering how long it’s been since they’ve actually gotten to see each other. Plus I think he wants to get to know Freed better. He said to send word once we found a more permanent home.” 

“Oh…” Gray gave her a worried look. “You gonna be okay?” 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said. “With any luck, it won’t be for that long. If we do find that island, Laxus can come live with us again too, finally quit hiding out on a smuggler’s ship,” she laughed. 

“Well, let’s get going then,” Gray said. “Where to next?” 

“Hargeon, from what I heard,” she said. “Evergreen told Levy that was a good place to get cheap stuff, it’s a big trade hub, evidently.” 

“Hargeon?” Gray repeated. 

Erza nodded. “Mmhm. Apparently it’s about a week of sailing to get there.” 

Natsu had to bite back a groan. He’d felt better the few hours he’d been on this island than he had in  _ days _ now. 

Erza gave him a sympathetic look. “After that, we can actually start looking, get a more concrete direction.” 

“Right. Well…” Gray nudged Natsu’s shoulder, and took Erza’s hand. “Let’s get going then, before everyone else decides to leave without us.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come chat with me on tumblr! 
> 
> @animateddragon: fandom blog 
> 
> @cats-crows-and-cryptids (main): personal blog


End file.
